


Date Night 3: Play Some Poker

by LikeMeReckless



Series: Can’t We Be Seventeen [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 00:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18712975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LikeMeReckless/pseuds/LikeMeReckless
Summary: As Betty entered the garage, her eyes first fell on Veronica, who sat at the folding table in the Andrews’ garage shuffling a deck of cards with the dexterity of a pro. A few beer bottles sat open on the table and an assortment of junk food lay splayed out in bowls in front of them. To her left sat Archie, eyeing her shuffling with an air of suspicion, and across the table were Kevin and Jughead with a seat to his left open for Betty.Betty smiled across the garage at Jug. “So poker it is,” she thought to herself. She dropped a quick peck on his lips and took up the empty seat at his side.Part 3 of the Can’t We Be Seventeen series finds 5 friends engaging in some high stakes poker.Thanks to @JandJSalmon over on Tumblr for her fantastic editing skills.Disclaimer: I don’t own or have any rights to these characters.  I just let them out once in a while to... ya know... Be Seventeen.





	Date Night 3: Play Some Poker

**Author's Note:**

> I’m having a blast letting these characters have some fun in this series. It’s great trying to take the established characters and imagine them in scenes we can’t see on TV. Constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated! Check out my other stuff or follow my Tumblr @likemereckless

Betty finished applying a second coat of her favorite pink lip gloss and stepped back to check out her handy work in the vanity mirror. She was only going over to Archie’s garage, for what, she wasn’t sure. Earlier in the week Jug had slipped a note into her locker that simply said: Archie’s Garage. Friday. 8 pm. -J

She hadn’t bothered to question him all week about what was going on in the garage because he’d been so sweet planning “normal” nights for her ever since the drama with Gladys and her family seemed to be like a tsunami, flowing in and demolishing everything they had previously known.

Satisfied with her appearance, blue jeans, light pink sweater with a collared shirt underneath, neat ponytail and a pair of sneakers, she grabbed her denim jacket and headed across the street.

As Betty entered the garage, her eyes first fell on Veronica, who sat at the folding table in the Andrews’ garage shuffling a deck of cards with the dexterity of a pro. A few beer bottles sat open on the table and an assortment of junk food lay splayed out in bowls in front of them. To her left sat Archie, eyeing her shuffling with an air of suspicion, and across the table were Kevin and Jughead with a seat to his left open for Betty.

Betty smiled across the garage at Jug. “So poker it is,” she thought to herself. She dropped a quick peck on his lips and took up the empty seat at his side.

Veronica finished shuffling and slapped the deck of cards down in the middle of the table. “So, now that Betty’s here, how are we playing? Texas Hold ‘Em? Seven-Card Stud?”

Archie looked up at her dumbfounded. “Uh, the poker kind of poker?” 

Rolling her eyes she scanned the others around the table. “Anyone else ever played poker before? Or was teen gambling not allowed in this Pleasantville before my desperately needed arrival?”

“We were more of a Go Fish kind of place,” said Kevin, popping a chip into his mouth.

As Veronica prepared to school them in the best way to play, Betty decided to share her two cents on the matter. “We could go Omaha style- it has been picking up popularity lately.”

Around the table four sets of eyes settled on her, all just as confused as the others. Betty looked back and forth between them all, taking in their incredulous looks.

“What?” she shrugged. “My Dad taught me how to fix cars and pick locks. You don’t think he taught me how to hold my own at a poker table, too?”

“God, that’s hot,” muttered Kevin from her side. “You truly are a delight, Betty Cooper.”

At his words, she felt the color rise to her cheeks and also the settled warmth of a hand covering her thigh. Apparently, Jug agreed with Kevin on this matter.

Cutting the deck and impatient to get started, Veronica urged the game forward. “Okay, B. Care to share the rules with our inexperienced gentlemen here?”

Grabbing the deck, Betty began to deal out cards to the table. “To start, we each get four cards for our own hand.”

She dealt out four cards to each of them at the table and then proceeded to lay five cards face up in the middle of the table. “The five cards here are community cards. Basically, you use two of your four cards and three of the five community cards to build the best hand you can.”

Her directions were met with blank stares from Kevin and Archie who were still looking at her like she was an alien. 

“I don’t understand,” said Archie looking between the community cards and his hand.

Betty laid her four cards out in front of her. “Let me show you. In my four cards, I have two nines, so I would definitely use that pair. There’s also a pair of sixes on the table, so my best hand would be nines and sixes, two pair.”

The guys nodded, now understanding the idea of the game and Betty grabbed the cards, needing to redeal since she had already shown her hand. When the cards were spread out among them again, they were ready to play.

The first three rounds passed relatively quickly, mostly due to the fact that they were still getting the hang of the game and also partly because they were quickly realizing poker, in fact, was not all that exciting.

“So, did you guys think this would be more exciting?” asked Kevin, tossing his cards as he lost the fourth game. “Because to me, poker always looked so much more fun in movies.

Archie folded his hand as well and shrugged. “Maybe we just have to keep playing until we get better or understand the game.”

“Or…” said Veronica slyly, “we can add some stakes to the game.”

“Steaks?” tossed Jug over his shoulder and he took off one of his jackets he had been wearing. “I like meat.”

Veronica rolled her eyes at him. “Stakes. Not steaks. Do you ever think of anything other than food?”

Jughead shrugged back at her. “Here and there.”

“What I mean is, we should play for something to make the game more valuable,” added Veronica.

Jug looked up at Veronica, mouth full of tortilla chips, wiping the orange nacho cheese against the red flannel tied around his waist.

“Yeah. Excess funds aren’t really my thing. Now, off you want to play for sarcastic retorts or obscure movie quotes, I’m in.”

Betty grinned back at him from his side, grateful for his words. She also was not in possession of expendable pocket money since her mother had dedicated their funds to cult life.

Unamused by his snark, as usual, Veronica quirked her head to the side and folded her arms across her chest in a challenging pose. 

“I was thinking of something more… interesting. Say, clothing?”

Archie sat up quickly at her words, eyebrows raised in surprise and interest. “Ronnie, you want to play-“

“Hell yes!” interjected Kevin. “And here I thought tonight would be boring!”

Betty straightened a bit in her seat, an air of discomfort washing over her. It wasn’t that she was a prude, but situations like these did tend to get out of hand. She recalled similarly rendered stakes one night at the Lodge’s cabin when a certain hot tub kiss had shaken things up for her and her friends.

“Well?” questioned Veronica. “You guys in?”

“You know I am!” replied Kevin.

“Screw it- let’s do it,” Archie conceded, tapping his hands against the felt of the poker table.

With a sly smile, Veronica turned her sights towards Betty and Jughead, glaring back and forth between the two.

“Betty…” she teased, drawing out her name in a singsong voice. “Come on, it’s not like we haven’t all seen you in various states of undress before.”

Looking around the room she knew that was true. She’d changed in front of Kevin more times than she can recall, swam in her undergarments with Veronica and Archie besides providing a nightly window or locker room peep show for both, and Jug, well…

“Fine- I’m in. But, I have another rule proposal. Winner can choose to undress someone or they can choose to put a piece of their clothing back on.”

Once Betty had signed on, no one even bothered to get confirmation with Jughead. It was assumed if Betty was in, so was he. Truth be told, they were right, even though the tortilla chips he had been gorging himself on now felt like a cyclone in his abdomen.

“I should have gone with my instinct and made this a solo date. We’d be playing a game we’d both win and somehow I feel like here we all lose,” he whispered to Betty, eyes still locked on Veronica’s dangerous grin.

“Care to share with the class, Mr. Jones.” teased Kevin.

“Enough juvenile stalling,” sighed an exasperated Veronica. “I’ll accept your rule, Betty. But, if you get to add a rule, so do I.”

The grin she wore was anything but innocent as she began to share her stipulation with the table.

“Winner not only picks the person and item of clothing to remove but also physically does the removing themselves.”

Veronica arched an eyebrow at her friends, daring them to challenge her. She was playing with fire tonight and was in the mood to get scalded. Silence hung around the table for what seemed like an eternity until finally, after no objections, Veronica grinned.

“Okay. Let’s play some poker.”

Archie snatched the deck from the table since it was his turn to deal. Hands sweaty, he dealt out the cards, passing them to the players around the table. As they studied their cards, a dangerous silence settled over the table. Each player scanned their cards, hoping to be the victor in the end. The quiet lingered much longer than in between previous rounds when it was finally extinguished by the crunch of a tortilla chip.

“Are you really still eating?!” yelled Veronica. “It’s breaking my concentration!”

Jughead shrugged his shoulders, tossing another chip in his mouth. “I’m hungry.”

Betty laughed at his response, her cards momentarily forgotten. “Jug? You’re always hungry.”

With that he began to waggle his eyebrows at her suggestively, eliciting a giggle from his girlfriend and groans from around the table.

“Seriously though,” sighed Veronica. “You may be topless soon. Don’t you want to go easy on the chips?”

Jughead brought a hand to his chest in mock offense. “I work hard on this bod.”

“Can we just play?” came Kevin’s voice from across the table. “I gave up a night out of shirtless guys for this, so I better start seeing some soon.”

“Alright!” interjected Archie. “What does everyone have?”

As much as they had all agreed to this game, the reality that it was actually happening began to set in. No one spoke at first, eyes scanning the table to see who would make the first move. Kevin lay down his cards first with a sigh.

“Ace high,” he complained.

“Better than me. Queen high,” added Veronica. 

“I have a pair of nines,” said Archie, laying his cards out for them to see.

“Queens,” came Jughead’s voice, smiling smugly at his dominance thus far. He turned to his left, brow raised in question. “Betty?” 

She tossed down her cards and slumped back in her chair. “Pair of sixes,” she puffed.

A collective breath and pause hung over the table again until finally, Veronica spoke.

“Well, who’s it going to be first, Jug?”

Jughead gazed at his friends seated around the table almost wishing he was not the first winner of the night. He had never been comfortable without layers on- except when Betty had come into his life- and even that had been a slow journey for them. In a way, she always could see through all of his masks- his layers, the stupid hat he couldn’t seem to let go of, his sarcasm- so bearing all to her, while still slightly terrifying, had also seemed almost natural and cathartic. The idea of choosing someone else ventured a bit out of his comfort zone. He contemplated Archie since he always seemed to be shirtless anyway.

“Jug?” Came Betty’s voice interrupting his thoughts. He looked up to find the table waiting, expecting and anticipating his answer.

“Who’s the first casualty, Juggie?”

He placed a hand on Betty’s knee and explained his musings.

“Well, I don’t really want to have to physically undress Archie or Kevin. If they were deshirtifying themselves then that would be a done deal. And, no offense, but undressing Veronica in front of Betty seems a little… controversial.”

Betty shot him a look that clearly translated into a territorial damn right.

“But,” continued Jug, “I also don’t really want to undress my girlfriend in front of so many eyes either,” he added giving her knee another squeeze.

“So, that being said….” 

“Yes, now that it’s an hour later,” interrupted Veronica.

“That being said,” repeated Jughead, “I choose me.”

“You cannot choose yourself!” argued Archie, a frustrated look gracing his face.

“It’s not in the rules,” shrugged Jughead.

Veronica rolled her eyes at him for the fifth, and not last, time that night. “It’s common sense.”

Jughead eyed them all, assessing the situation and what it may turn into and then stood, moving behind Betty. 

“Fine.” he conceded, brushing his hands up to her shoulders.

His hands rested there for a moment, providing her with a reassuring squeeze. He brushed his fingers up the name of her neck, eliciting a slight flush from her alabaster cheeks. His fingers found the Bobby pin at the base of her ponytail and nimbly pulled it out, allowing golden tendrils to fall loose. He brushed his fingers back down her neck and left a kiss at the top of her crown as he returned to his seat, affixing her Bobby pin to his beanie for safekeeping.

“My God,” breathed Kevin, fake fanning himself with his cards. “That was somehow both incredibly hot and a giant letdown all rolled into one.”

“That was lame,” offered Archie, collecting the cards from around the table and stacking them back up. He passed the deck to Jug, ready to play.

With the first round under their belts, the competitive nature of all five gamblers began to replace the awkwardness that was quickly fading.

Jughead dealt out the next round. “Okay boys, and girls, time to read ‘em and weep.”

Betty and Archie automatically put their cards down on the poker table, seemingly bowing out of the round. Kevin had a sly grin on his face, cards being held just a bit too tightly in his fingers. Having a poker face was clearly not his forte, but apparently, neither were cards.  
“I have two pair- fours and eights!”

Jughead tossed his cards on the table as well. “Sixes and eights, my friends.”

As Kevin’s grin dissolved, Veronica’s voice permeated the room, wiping Jughead’s grin clean away as well. “Three jacks and eights. Full house boys!”

There was a collective groan around the table, cards being pushed to the center, and light laughter as well. 

“Now, who should be my first victim?” taunted Veronica, gingerly tapping a finger against her lower lip, devious grin adorning her face.

Slowly, she rose from her chair and began to saunter around the table. She paused briefly at Archie, causing him to tense, heart beating fast. 

The one positive thing that had come out of sharing these date nights was the awkwardness between the two seemed to grow less evident each day. Still, Veronica moved on, not ready to venture back into intimate territory. 

“Hmmm. Sorry, Arch. Been there and done that.” 

Next, she came to a stop by Kevin. “Definitely on my ‘get shirtless’ list, but not my first kill of the evening.”

Finally, she came to rest between Betty and Jughead. “Betty, my love, I have no problem stripping you girl, but I’m afraid that sight may end the game way too early for the boys watching in this room. Also, I apologize in advance.”

With that, she turned her sights on the beanie-clad Hemingway, glaring at her from his chair.

“This is payback for your bobby pin stunt. Stand up,” she commanded, hands on her hips in an authoritative manner.

Slowly and uncomfortably he stood, unsure of what to do with his hands or his eyes. Veronica inched forward, and while making unwavering eye contact, leaned forward, grasped the pockets of his worn-out denim, and yanked his jeans down his legs, exposing hunter green and blue plaid boxer shorts as they dropped.

“Geez, Veronica!” he yelled from the unexpected onslaught. “You go straight for the jugular, don’t you?”

She smiled walking back to her seat. “Daddy always taught me to go big or go home. High stakes is how we play the game. And you’re welcome Betty, I didn’t even need to touch him.”

Jug fumbled his jeans over his shoes and sat back down in his chair. “I feel very emasculated right now,” he murmured, shoulders slumping.

Betty leaned over, laying her head on his shoulder, offering a frown that was somehow also a half smile, trying to hide her amusement at the situation. 

Jughead passed the deck to Betty, who promptly shuffled and dealt the cards out to the table. When the night had begun she had suggested this style of play assuming it was just a harmless card night. Now, she wished she’d chosen another style, less reliant on luck and more reliant on skill.

“Okay, What are we working with here?” she asked. Everyone placed their cards face up on the table, formalities and hand reveals forgotten, all anticipating the next move of the night. 

“Yes!” erupted Kevin from his corner. “Finally, I win! Now let’s see. What to do? What to do?” 

As Kevin teased he noticed three sets of eyes watching him and one pair belonging to a certain redhead watching a raven-haired beauty to his right instead. He contemplated using his win for himself, or he could use it to try and help restore order to the balance of relationships in his friend group. He sighed internally and questioned himself. Why am I always so nice?

“Hey, guys? What are a man’s three favorite games?” he asked, looking around at his friends.

Confusion clouded their features, shoulders shrugging and mouths opening and closing with a lack of response. 

Kevin watched them and when he was sure they were definitely baffled, offered his answer. “Checker, Chess, and Poker.”

No one around the table showed any inkling of comprehension on their faces. He was met with blank stares and creased brows. He threw his hands up in exasperation. “Say it fast!”

Everyone could be seen mulling it over in their minds, replaying his riddle with the same befuddlement as earlier. Finally, Betty’s face flashed with understanding. 

“Oh my God, Kevin! Gross!” she laughed, crinkling her face up in mock disgust. Noticing the rest of the table was now looking at her with the same uncertainty they reserved for the riddle she decided to enlighten the gang.

“Checker, chess, and poker,” she said. She then repeated it again, but much faster. “Check her chest and poke-her.” She added a duck of her head and a quirk of her brow as if that should clue them into the hidden meaning.

Realization fell over the table and Veronica rolled her eyes and Archie hooted with laughter. Jughead leaned into Betty, poking her upper arm with his pointer finger. She looked over at him in question and he shrugged at her.

“Am I not supposed to ‘poke’ you every time I check out your chest now?” he joked and his teasing was rewarded with a light punch to the upper arm and a thousand-watt smile that could strike him dead like lightning.

“Amateurs,” said Kevin. “You ruined the moment. Anyway, let’s go with check her chest. Veronica- lose the shirt.”

Kevin moves to stand in front of her and she rose, arms once again fastened across her chest.

“What happened to starting simple with like, ya know, socks?” asked Archie.

“Don’t mess my hair, Keller,” added Veronica as her shirt was lifted above her head.

All of a sudden a realization came to Betty. “V? Did you plan this out in advance?”

Veronica looked over at her, sly smile on her face. “Why B, whatever do you mean?”

Her mock innocence did not fool her friend. “You never wear anything but a dress and you just so happen to have a shirt and a skirt on tonight?”

“Touché, Betty Cooper. You truly are a devious detective,” she said returning to her seat.

“And you, Veronica Lodge, are just devious,” added Betty with a grin, passing the deck to Kevin.

The next rounds passed with much laughter and the loss of many articles of clothing. Archie was down to one sock, one shoe, and his boxers and Jughead wasn’t far behind. The worst blow for him came when Betty, who somehow managed to remain in everything but her Bobby pin and shoes, had chosen to remove his beanie and affix it to her own head.

“Hey! No adding layers!” yelled Archie. She kept the beanie and removed a shoe to pay the debt.

Kevin was down to his khaki’s and Veronica had lost her shirt, heels, and headband. The game had gotten a lot goofier since more open bottles had appeared on the table. Jughead being the exception, not having drunk anything due to the alcoholism in his family. 

“Okay!” said Betty, who was dealing again. “Let’s see those hands.”

Kevin and Jughead’s both had nothing but a high card. Betty had two pair and Archie a pair of sevens. “V?” Betty asked. 

Veronica grinned wide like the Cheshire Cat. “I’ve got a flush!” she laughed. “Domination is mine!”

She scanned the table again, her victorious smile turning into a more viscous grin. “There seems to be some inequality in the room that no one has addressed.”

Veronica sauntered over to Betty. “Alright bestie, time to prep for Girls Gone Wild. You can’t be the only non-topless one in this garage.”

Betty shot Veronica a look of mock laughter and stood, raising her arms as Veronica lifted up her sweater.

“Wow, guys, this has to be some serious straight guy fantasy making going on right now,” said Kevin.

As Veronica lifted Betty’s sweater, a clang of a door interrupted them all. They turned to the disturbance, Betty’s arms stuck above her head, sweater blotting out her eyesight.

“Hey, Arch you in here? I-“ Fred Andrews words dropped off as he took in the sight in front of him. Three half stripped teen boys jumping to their feet to shield a topless Veronica who was still holding Betty captive, arms stretched above her head, face wrapped in a sweater cocoon. 

“Dad! Don’t-“ Archie had begun as Fred took in the scene and turned away, back to the garage door.

“I’m sorry- I - no wait, why am I sorry?” he yelled out exasperated. “Everyone, clothes on, garage cleaned, party over.”

There were many murmurs of ‘Yes, Mr. Andrews’ and quick shuffling of pants and shoes. Veronica dragged Betty’s sweater down restoring her eyesight and revealing her blush as Fred left the garage, possibly more mortified than the kids.

Later that night in the house across Elm Street, Betty and Jug lay on the bed laughing about how much trouble Archie was probably getting into right now. For the first time in months, Betty wasn’t upset about her mother not caring about her extracurriculars. 

“I think poor Fred was more embarrassed than we were,” laughed Jughead, his nose close enough to brush against hers against the floral bedspread.

Betty bit her lip, a radiant smile still gracing her features. “Thank you for just taking off my bobby pin. It was sweet the way you clipped it to your beanie,” she added, leaning forward to kiss him.

He deepened the kiss, hands coming up to frame her face before pulling away. “I always want to undress you, but preferably without a crowd for a peep show… which reminds me, in the spirit of poker, I believe my Ace of a girlfriend has some amazing Queens that could use my attention,” he suggested with a lecherous way of his eyebrows.

“Jug! Well, in terms of poker,” she retorted, “You’re such a jack a-“

Her words were cut off by his mouth against hers and she was kept silent for the rest of the night. They both had the same sentiment that evening: Everyone gets lucky if you play the right kind of poker.


End file.
